Democrats harnessed high voter turnout, favorable registration figures and a throng of labor-minded volunteers to potentially sweep every high-profile race on the ballot in San Diego County.

The surge was part of a broader Democratic trend that included notable victories in California and re-elected President Barack Obama.

In San Diego, Rep. Bob Filner became only the second Democrat in the last 40 years to lead the nation’s eighth-largest city. His election led a string of victories in local city, county and congressional elections.

California voters passed Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30 to temporarily raise sales and income taxes on high earners to fund education and public safety. And they rejected Proposition 32 that sought to prohibit unions from using payroll-deducted funds for political purposes.

“I think the proponents of Prop 32 ignited not only the labor community but the entire Democratic coalition,” said Jess Durfee, chairman of the San Diego County Democratic Party. “That fire to fight for their political lives helped them build the momentum for even some unexpected victories.”

The election results contrasted sharply with those of the June primary, when DeMaio finished first and voters approved initiatives overhauling the city’s pension system and banning labor-friendly construction contracts. In the primary, Republicans also gained a seat on the San Diego City Council.

GOP leaders dubbed it a taxpayer revolution. Democrats countered it was silly to proclaim such a shift after only one election. Tuesday’s results bolstered that contention.

Filner may have a supportive City Council after Democratic incumbent Sherri Lightner vanquished Republican Ray Ellis to retain her seat in District 1 and give Democrats a 5-4 Democratic majority.

Solana Beach Councilman Dave Roberts is poised to become the first Democrat elected to the Board of Supervisors in nearly two decades, pending the late-ballot count. Democrat Scott Peters took a nominal lead over Republican Rep. Brian Bilbray in one of the priciest and most closely watched congressional races in the state. Democrat Shirley Weber was elected to the Assembly and will become the first African American to represent San Diego County in the California Legislature.

Democratic Assemblyman Marty Block was elected to the state Senate in a race that helped his party achieve a supermajority in the upper chamber for the first time since 1965. Democrats were also expected to reach the two-thirds threshold in the state Assembly, giving them the power to approve tax increases, override the governor’s vetoes and circumvent legislative rules and deadlines without support from Republican lawmakers.

San Diego voters overwhelmingly approved the largest school bond in the state, San Diego Unified’s $2.8 billion Proposition Z, which will fund campus renovations and pay for classroom technology upgrades. It also ties major construction projects to existing union-hiring policies.

Several factors contributed to the sweeping Democratic victories Tuesday. The universe of voters in presidential primaries and general elections is monumentally different. In some races, Democrats were aided by legislative and congressional districts redrawn by an independent commission. In other contests, they fielded more moderate and thus more competitive candidates.

“This speaks to a majority of the voters in the city being tired of the downtown business establishment, the developers, the Doug Manchesters of the world controlling the agenda,” Durfee said, referring to the influence of the developer and U-T San Diego publisher, who contributed significantly to the DeMaio election effort.

“And they are ready to take the power and return it into the hands of the neighborhoods and the average folks.”

Elsewhere, arithmetic and demographics tiled in Democrats’ favor.

“When you have a national tide, you just can’t overcome it,” said Jen Jacobs, a Republican political consultant who worked to bring Republican Carl DeMaio within 3 points of Filner. Voter registration in the city is 40.5 percent Democratic, 27.6 percent independent and 27.1 percent Republican.

“This speaks to the challenge Republicans have with younger voters, with women voters and with nonwhite voters,” added Republican political consultant John Hoy. “I think there’s a huge challenge for Republicans in trying to balance an appeal that’s based on substance while maintaining some semblance of the principles that make people conservative.”

Democratic candidates and party-preferred causes here were aided by a streamlined coalition of the local party, organized labor and others that created an extensive ground operation described by some as unprecedented. Labor leader Lorena Gonzalez said she made the early decision to communicate with “our folks,” people that are or would like to be in unions. They reached out to working class voters and communities of color.

In 2008, another successful election for Democrats, Gonzalez’s San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council essentially folded into the Democratic Party. This year, unions and their supporters conducted “member-mobilization” north of Interstate 8 and ran an independent expenditure to all voters living south of I-8.

Gonzalez said she suspects the over-performance of lower-propensity voters in the southern areas proved the difference in the mayor’s race.

“I look at it in terms of demographics, and as a Latina who lives south of the 8 who is a single mom and comes from a working-class background, the historic nature is not just that we finally elected a Democrat,” she said. “But that we have a mayor who understands and represents the communities that have been neglected for far too long in the city.”

Jacobs, the GOP consultant and DeMaio confidant, tipped her hat to her opponents’ efforts.

“Lorena is the big winner,” she said. “Vindication, or whatever, but she did her job. And she was successful.”

Locally, the results from the primary and general election reflect the growing influence of the major parties. The San Diego County Democratic Party has transitioned from being a relatively minor player to building a solid infrastructure for fund-raising and running a ground operation.

It’s annual budget increased over the last eight years from about $60,000 annually to more than $2.5 million. One program boasts more than 1,100 people who have worked the last several elections engaging with their neighbors about who to vote for.

Local Republican Party Chairman Tony Krvaric said he was proud of his team of volunteers. He said the party did more than ever in every respect: mail, phone calls, e-mails and their get-out-the-vote program.

“Sometimes it’s just not enough,” he said. “All you can do is all you can do.”

In 2010, Democrats experienced a similar drubbing in an election that swept over the country.

“It’s hard to fight that when it hits the other way,” Krvaric said.

Meanwhile, Durfee called the bond with labor a winning combination whereas the GOP has seen it’s statewide registration drop below 30 percent.

“At some point they are going to hit rock bottom and a new generation of leaders are going to take over,” he said. “We as Democrats need to prepare for that because they are going to attempt to figure out how to start cutting into our demographics, or coalitions and we’ve got to be prepared.

“We can’t assume they are just going to continue to shrink into oblivion.”